Trump Doubles Down on Threats to Pull Licenses of News Networks He Deems “Fake News”

Yeah. Rhetorical question. Of course Donald Trump knows nothing about the Constitution, or why his openly threatening the media is not a thing we should expect from a U.S. president.

Earlier today, after an NBC story that claimed Trump’s desire to jack up the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal by tenfold, the president, took to his favorite platform, Twitter, to rage against the network, calling it “fake news” and suggesting that their license should be pulled.

During an Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he also told reporters Wednesday that it is “disgusting the press is able to write whatever it wants to write.”

Imagine that – freedom of the press.

Trump said when asked that he has no plans to seek limits on what the press writes or reports, but his comments have increasingly drawn concern from First Amendment advocates.

“This threat alone could intimidate the press and lead to skewed and unfair reporting,” Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) warned on Wednesday, following Trump’s comment that NBC’s license should be challenged.

Pallone and other Democrats then lit up FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to prove his loyalty was to the law, and not the gilded toad in the White House.

Trump has had a contentious relationship with the media since winning the nomination, calling any unfavorable report “fake news.”

Oddly enough, he counts the National Enquirer as one of his trusted media outlets. He also happily spread a National Enquirer story that accused Ted Cruz’s dad of being somehow complicit in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

It doesn’t seem like he’s that turned off by “fake news.” In fact, he’s all for it when it benefits him.